by Alana Melos
“You have to get me out of here,” she whispered.
Adira looked at me with her calm red eyes. “I tried. The bars are magic. Here is the ward, I think, meant to keep each person in their place.”
I looked for a lock. There wasn’t one. “How? I don’t have a blowtorch.”
“Your telekinesis?” Rebekah asked hopefully.
I would have preferred a blowtorch. I couldn’t complain too much about this snag in the plan. Everything was going much better than I had expected, so I knew a trap or complication was incoming somewhere. “Ok, so magic… if I disturb the ward, alarms are going to go off, right?” Both of them nodded, being way more familiar with the dark arts than I was. “So we gotta be ready to run the second it’s open.” I eyed her cell. It was set up like most prisons, save that instead of a toilet it had a chamber pot. The bed was chained to the wall, all one metal slab save for the mattress and thin blanket upon it.
“Yes, hurry,” Rebekah said, glancing to her new right hand. “Before he comes back. Tomorrow…” She shuddered, her thin shoulders quivering. “You have come at a good time. We need to be gone, tonight.”
“Alright, Rebekah,” I said as I dug out the rubbing alcohol and matches. I handed those to her. Her blue-green eyes looked at me with a big fat question in them. “Light your bed on fire.”
“What?” she said, jumping back and dropping the items like they’d burned her. “Are you crazy?!”
“He’s going to have genetic samples in his lab too,” I muttered to myself. “You know where his lab is?”
“Below us--what about the fire? I’m not going to light it! What if you can’t get me out?”
“If we don’t destroy every scrap of genetic material he has of you, it won’t matter,” I said. “He can find you easily with one of those scrying spells. He still might through your uniform.” He’d made the enchanted uniform she wore for work, and that’s how he’d found us on that snowy night: tracking his spells.
“And me?” Adira asked as she glanced over her shoulder at the only exit.
I took off my backpack and dug out the plastic explosive we’d hijacked from Origin, as well as the remote blasting caps that went with it. “Here,” I said as I handed them to her. “Go and set the charges around the room. Make sure to hit every corner and along the length of the hallway. We want to make sure this room collapses into the bottom one.” If it was done right, it would basically destroy the entire tower. Neither of us were explosives experts though, so spreading it out to weaken the floor was the best we could do.
“Very well,” she said. “I will watch the exit afterwards. Be fast.” She hurried to accomplish her task, leaving the Siren and I alone.
“He can’t find the uniform with magic,” she said once she had an opportunity. “Alistair changed that. I also can’t summon it in here, or use any of my powers.”
“So, douse the bed and get ready to strike the match.” I knelt down and examined the bars. Like a prison, they had the bar going between them, strengthening them all and making it much harder to remove just one so she could slip out. Bending steel was hard. I didn’t think I could do it by myself. Ripping limbs out of sockets and doors off of hinges were a piece of cake compared to mangling a solid bar of steel. Who knew if I could? I fingered the bottle in my pocket. With Clarity I could bend them. That would also leave me open to a crash later down the line at an unforeseen and probably inopportune time.
Rebekah did as I told her and stood ready by the bed, wooden match in hand ready to strike against the plastered wall. I weighed the two options I had. I could concentrate on just bending one bar wide enough for her to get through it, or I could try to pry one up. The connection between stone and steel would be weakest, but I’d likely have to pry half of them up and probably still bend steel. The only way I could go in this was just to do the first option and pull a Superman.
I blew out my breath and inhaled slowly, calming myself and honing my concentration. With a tentative touch like a new lover, I brushed my teke against the bars, waiting for whatever magic there was to blast me for interfering with it. When nothing happened, some of the stress went out of my shoulders and I gripped the bar firmly with my power, imagining strong hands around it. Then, I willed it to bend.
The steel didn’t budge.
Frowning, I doubled down on my effort. My concentration narrowed even further. For the moment, that steel bar was my world. I breathed in its scent, tasted the metal on my tongue. It was the immovable object. I was the unstoppable force. I would bend it. There was no question of that, not in my mind.
Sweat beaded on my brow as I focused. My heart pounded. I’d used my teke in some desperate situations, relying on adrenalin to give me a last push of power. This was the same, even though I didn’t have people attacking me. My body reacted to the attempt like I was in a danger situation. My mind remained calm. Rebekah watched with anxiety dancing in her blue-green eyes, waiting to strike the match as soon as she could escape. This was my entire purpose being here in the first place: to rescue her. I would.
The bar bent.
It wasn’t much, maybe a quarter inch, but in that moment, I knew I had it. I applied more pressure, forcing the steel away. Gerard and I had buckled a steel door this way, but we’d been working together, worrying at the steel with minds focused on brute force. I didn’t have him to rely upon. Only myself, but that was all I’d ever needed. I would do this.
It bent another quarter inch. Then an inch. Then two. My body felt heavy. My heart thudded in my chest, faster and faster. My body stayed tense, straining with effort, and the thought of taking Clarity to make this easy crossed my mind, causing my concentration to waver for just a second. No. I didn’t need the crutch. I would do this on my own.
Another few seconds passed, and it bent another inch. When it started to give a bit more, Rebekah said, “That’s enough. I can slip through.” I heard the scratch of sulfur on stone, and the acrid smell of the match hit my nostrils. When light bloomed behind the bar, I stopped and took several steps back. I gulped in air to the point of hyperventilating. I’d never exerted myself in such a way before. I’d been at the end of my reserves often, but it was always over a period of time, not one big thing… and this was a big thing.
The Siren slipped between the straight bar and the bent bar. As soon as she got her head through, I knew she’d make it the rest of the way. Her hips and rear got stuck as she pushed herself through. She twisted and writhed, then stepped out of the cell, breathing lightly with the exertion.
“We should go, and fast,” she said as she moved to me and offered me her left hand. My eyes went to her right, and she put it behind her back. “Not now. Later.”
I arched a brow as I straightened, my breathing and heartbeat mostly back to normal. “I don’t need your help,” I said, forgetting about her hand for now. “Let’s go.”
Walking to the exit, I did my best to ignore the other prisoners. The faintest bit of guilt niggled at my mind as I held the remote to detonate the explosives in my pocket. I wouldn’t have wanted to be a prisoner. To be caged like that…? It would be torture. Sheer torture. The spark of empathy which had been fanned over the last few months grew just a touch. It wasn’t enough to try to bust any of them free. No, it was just enough to make me avert my eyes, lest this stupid feeling of guilt made me do something idiotic.
Oh, how I missed being a plain, straight psychopath.
We met up with Adira at the stairwell. “The laboratory is downstairs,” the Siren said. “But we should just leave.” Her anxiousness ate at me, but I shook my head.
“I thought about this,” I said, gritting my teeth. “You leave one scrap of yourself behind and we’re back at square one. We’ll just go down, set the lab on fire, then escape. We can detonate the explosives once we’re outside.” When Rebekah made an agitated sound, I pointed with my sword, “It’ll just be a quick torch job. In and out, I promise.”
She groaned, but was quick to follow when Adira
and I started down the stairs. Upon the next landing, we were faced with double doors which were locked. A quick pick later, they opened wide to a dark room. We just had to start a fire and spread some of the accelerant Adira carried around. Quick and dirty. It didn’t take much to foul genetic leavings. I assumed it would also screw up whatever magicians did, or what energy they channeled when trying to scry for their victim. Besides, it would be smothered in stone after the fire… there wasn’t much more we could do to make it safer for us.
I sheathed my sword and pulled out a flashlight. Clicking it on, I turned to Rebekah. “Where does he keep samples? And where did he… uh…” The look on her face made me stop. I’d seen something like it before, but usually when she was going into battle. Her expression was blank, cold and distant like one of my porcelain masks. She cradled her right hand against her chest with her left, and I wondered once more what he’d done to it. Was it… like Frankenstein? Did he attach a dead person’s hand to her? The thought revolted me.
“Towards the back, the file cabinets,” she said, her voice even. “That’s where he keeps records and other things.”
Turning, I flashed the light around. The area was large, but obviously it was an operating room or laboratory of some kind. Several large pieces of machinery were stored against the walls, presumably to be rolled out as needed. Tables, stretchers, chairs, restraints… all those were present, mostly clean. Mostly. What gave me the heebies as I walked through were the circles etched into the floor below the operating tables. At a glance, the writing in each circle was different, though similar enough to each other in some unknown language. As I walked, my hair clung to my cheeks and neck as if static made it charged. The sensation of subtle pressure against my face and body heightened the sense of being watched.
“Fast,” Adira said, pushing me forward. “Look for more flammables. I will set this fire.” She moved with brisk, efficient purpose towards the back of the room. There was a desk set up with notes scattered across it, but cabinets loomed large behind it. She took out the bottle of whiskey and splashed it everywhere, jerking the locked cabinet doors open to soak the contents there as well.
I shook myself. She was right. Setting the creepy-crawlies aside, I looked around for cleaning or doctoring supplies. My instincts didn’t lead me wrong; it only took a few moments to find sterilizing agents which had an alcohol base. Adira and I busied ourselves spreading it around, making a trail of the flammable liquids to about the middle of the room. Tossing the empty containers aside, I took out a match and struck it against my fingernail.
The flame blew out.
Rather than sit there and wonder why in the hell it went out, I turned and directed the flashlight beam to the entrance. Standing there, flanked by two large cronies, stood Richter.
“You came all this way and you didn’t even stop to say hello,” he said, his voice snide.
Dammit. The only thing that surprised me was how unsurprised I was. I knew our intrusion would have been noticed, and of course it was the oberst who responded to it. I’d been prepared for both of those. Why? It was the worst thing which could have happened so, of course, it did. What shocked me was the Siren’s reaction to seeing him. Instead of standing stoic as she had when confronted with the lab, or cowering in fear as I thought she might have after whatever experiments he’d put her through, Rebekah launched herself at the oberst, screaming in fury. Adira glanced to me, just as startled as I was at the reaction.
There wasn’t time for witty banter. I dropped the light and drew my blade. Adira misted into the shadows. I raced after Rebekah, who charged over tables and chairs towards the necromancer. Her costume changed in a blink. First civvies, now her uniform, magically enhanced. If I could have read her telepathically, I’m sure she’d be nothing but waves of fury. I knew that feeling. I embraced it, and drew strength from it. Rebekah wasn’t like me though. She’d always been the cheerful, optimistic one, even in the face of certain doom.
Just before she reached Richter--and I a few paces behind--his two back ups sprang into action. One I recognized when he shadowstepped: it was the cybervamp from the tunnels. Adira would have to handle him. The other moved to stand in front of Richter, blocking the Nacht Sirene’s path to him. She shadowstepped, disappearing from view. Instead of looking around puzzled, the second goomba turned and reached into the air. In the dim light, I saw his fingers curl. He yanked, and the Sirene materialized, only to be slammed onto the hard tiled ground.
I drew up short, only barely dodging his next swing. The Siren kipupped to her feet, and sent a blow towards his unprotected face. He caught it in a massive, meaty hand. A sound of pain erupted from her as he squeezed. I took a step back, trying to ascertain the threat level. Behind me, furniture crashed as the two vamps tussled with one another. Richter remained calm, that infuriating smirk on his lips.
The pain cut through the Siren’s haze of anger. “What?” she gasped as she tried to pull her hand out of his grip. “How?!”
“Tsk, tsk,” Richter said. “Did you think I spent time just experimenting with you? Or that time on Earth Prime just looking for you?” He shook his head, his gaunt face all shadows and smiles.
A look behind me showed me Adira held her own with the cybervamp. He was faster and stronger, but she was wiser and kept her cool. She held him at bay by using the environment against him, improvising weapons and blockages. When he lunged, she shadowstepped out of the way, which caused him to mist in return. They both came back into being at the same time, Adira on his back, scratching his face with her taloned fingers before letting him go and pushing him into the wall. He turned in a flash, one of his eyes bright red instead of dull. I halfway expected a laser beam to come shooting out, and was disappointed when it didn’t.
A grunt pulled me back to the fight in front of me. The Siren had wrenched her hand away from the meaty goon and punched him. The landed blow had to have hurt, but all he did was exhale a harsh wind. My eyes slid to Richter. He blocked the doorway as he watched. If he wasn’t going to participate, I wasn’t going to force him. If he unleashed his magic, I wasn’t sure what kind of chance we’d have.
As Rebekah ducked and dodged the strikes from the tall goon, I moved behind him. He only wore tight trousers and a t-shirt which stretched over his massive frame. Muscled like a professional wrestler, the bulk didn’t slow him at all. He also didn’t seem to sense me creeping up behind him. Or he didn’t care. Either way, when I stabbed him through the kidney, the goomba grunted. I twisted and withdrew my blade. Blood spurted from the wound, spraying the ground in front of me. The flesh closed up, healing faster than I’d ever witnessed before, save for Septimus. Richter’s laugh behind me caused me to step back and whirl, ducking his creature’s attack as I glared at the oberst.
“Did you like that? You could stab him a hundred times and the result would be the same,” Richter taunted.
I scowled as the minion advanced on me. Lashing out with many quick, successive strikes, I only managed to cut him along his arms as he blocked them. Any wounds I made healed in seconds.
“Damn it,” I said as I rolled to the side only to come up on my feet. The Siren and I flanked him, yet he had no bruises even though she’d been hitting him with her enhanced strength all this time. “No one heals that fast!”
“The power of three wolves without any of the unpleasant side effects,” Richter chortled, gloating in his sure victory. He had yet to lift a finger. A blur passed behind the Siren, and Adira hit the wall, hard. The cybervamp stalked towards us, bringing their fight to join ours. “The next phase of the superman, a perfect meld of technology and sorcery!”
“Oh, give me a break,” I groaned. “Bekah, when I become an evil mastermind, remind me not to gloat.”
She didn’t pause in striking her enemy to acknowledge I’d said anything. Richter laughed again, enjoying my obvious distress. His two creations were destroying us. I knew he had power. If he chose to, he could have ended this fight with literally a snap of h
is fingers. Instead, he stood there, mocking us when he knew he had the upper hand.
That pissed me off.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bottle. It took only a moment for the cover to come off, even while I was dodging out of the way. The Sirene took up most of the goon’s attention anyway, and since I wasn’t attacking any more, nor trying to escape, neither the werewolf-enhanced dude or the cybervamp cared about me. Adira was faring better against the cybervamp as I saw him sport a few open wounds from her talons, but not much. The Nacht Sirene was able to dodge out of the way of most of the faux werewolf’s blows after all, but Adira sported several wounds. She’d begun to lag in her steps as her body healed.
“Switch partners,” I called out. Maybe that would shake it up. Maybe not. We had to do something. Richter’s attention swung from me to the fight and I took a Clarity while he watched Adira and Rebekah try to trade places. I dry swallowed the tablet. A few seconds later, power flowed through me.
The next moment, I imagined a large spike behind Richter’s head, then drove it through. It halted in place, stopped by some invisible force. I should’ve expected that. He turned to me, his thin lips drawn up in mockery. I kept the pressure up, trying to force it through his thick, stupid skull, but no matter how I strived, the telekinetic spike moved not at all.
“Oh, is that your best?” he said, his voice cutting through me. The others fought around me as I scooted the edge of the carnage. Now that they’d switched, they seemed to be faring at least a little better. The enhanced man still could snatch Adira out of the shadowstep, so she played at cutting him bit by bit, trying to tire him out. The Siren used power punches, trying to overwhelm the cybervamp. He did sport a dent on his shiny chest, but that was all. It didn’t slow him in the least.